Exploring Nevada's backroads by bicycle

Peavine Mountain; Reno’s Backdoor source for Backroads

I don’t think of backroads when I think of Peavine because it has been a great source of single track ever since the Poedunks have been filling the south eastern quadrant of the mountain with quality trail. But this is not to overshadow the many great forest service and other backroads on Peavine.

The most prominent road on Peavine is Peavine Road. Rising from the north side of Peavine, near the south end of Stead Blvd and North Virginia Rd, Peavine Road corkscrews its way past Poeville mine site and numerous side excursions to the summit. This is one of my all time favorite rides as it gives a 360 degree tour of our local area. As you pass various drainages with particular exposures and elevation you can watch the local flora change creating the rich patchwork of habitat. The road is very well maintained so it can be rideable during 4 seasons with the proper width tires for packed snow in late winter and spring.

The second best known road on Peavine is Hoge Road off North Virginia Rd above the University of Nevada – Reno campus. The kiosk at the Humboldt – Toyabe National Forest boundary explains a few of the regulations for their lands including camping and travel. This is a bit of a hub for forest service roads and multi use single track trail. As Peavine Rd is the major access point from the north, Hoge Rd is a major access point from the east.

From the south side of Peavine there are several trailheads from Rancho San Rafael, the top of Keystone Ave, and Kings Row. These trailheads also provide access to a variety of singletrack and forest service road. Keystone Cyn. is by far the most traveled route connecting northwest Reno to Hoge Rd. “radio towers” trail hub.

When looking up at Peavine there are some prominent fire roads, ridge lines, and lone bunches of pines that catch my eye. I know from past experience that these fire roads can quickly become too steep to ride so I went out knowing I would spend some time hike-a-biking on grades in the 20-30% range.

I worked my way up the mountain from the Kings Row trailhead along the mountains south west border between the H-T national forest and private property. The roads were steep but I got to see drainages on my home mountain I would never see if I stuck too singletrack or reasonably pitched fire roads. I crossed an intersection of fire roads that I had been through before years ago when trying to get off Peavine in a fall storm. Peavine can have intense storms combining high winds and precipitation. Local wisdom advises getting off the mountain. On the past occasion I set my bike down on upper Peavine Rd while I put on a wind jacket. My bike started sliding down the road in the wind. That was a sign to duck into a canyon with a quad path to get off the mountain.

Working my way up the mountain I finally teed into Peavine Rd after hiking a heavily eroded road lined with thick chaparral. From here there was still another 1000′ feet of climbing to the summit. Part of today’s goal was to catch some of the first color change of fall. There are a couple stands of aspens near the summit that I wanted to photograph. Plus I hadn’t made the trek to the to of Peavine in a year or so.

I chose an alternate route home. There is a parallel road to upper Peavine that is a bit of a roller coaster for quads. It is a fun pump-track descent, sometimes wet, and white knuckled in loose off-camber sections. I descended the rest of the mountain on some of Peavine’s prime singletrack offerings. Peavine has so much to offer our community. I recommend it as a day’s excursion, training ride/hike/run, or a backroad route from urban Reno.